


Maxie

by KennaxVal



Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 02:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19862131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaxVal/pseuds/KennaxVal





	Maxie

The sudden drop stirs everyone aboard the plane.

Taking a red-eye flight to New York wasn’t Riley’s idea of a good time, but at least the worst of it was over and she could show teenage Maxie her hometown.

Next to her is Hana, still fast asleep. Riley chuckles at the thought that her wife could sleep through the apocalypse itself and not much as twitch a muscle. 

On the other side is Maxie, who doesn’t miss the opportunity to pull out his phone and bury his face in the blue light.

“Maxie, we’re about to get out. Maybe you should put that away for now.”

The teenager rolls his eyes but does as he’s told. “It’s Max, mom. I’m not a kid anymore. Don’t call me, ‘Maxie’ anymore. It makes me sound like a baby.”

Riley throws her hands up in an exaggerated motion. “Well, gee, so sorry there ‘Max.’ But yeah, it’s definitely that name that makes you sound like a baby. Not your crappy attitude.”

“Whatever.”

Riley rolls her eyes. She’s learned by now to pick and choose her battles with her son. The young man’s biological father, Neville Vancoeur, is only sparingly in his life, and Riley has felt the need to make up for that since the day Hana gave birth to him. The efforts haven’t been entirely in vain, though. Much to Riley’s relief, Max has never thrown the “you’re not my real mom” argument in her face, no matter how bad their fights have been. 

It doesn’t help that Max looks more and more like his father as he gets older. The once brown hair adorning his head that looked much like his mothers was now jet black and even styled in the same manner as Neville. Thankfully, he still insists on dressing like a normal teenager, foregoing the brownish blazer and blue pullover that gives Hana’s ex-husband that classic snobby look. Truth be told, it’s all Riley and Hana can do to keep him dressed like the son of two duchesses at all. For the trip, the two moms agreed to let Max dress in a more casual manner with a black hoodie, ripped up jeans, and a pair of worn out sneakers. 

Gently, Riley nudges Hana awake, kissing her wife softly on the cheek. 

“Good morning, sleepy head. I’m glad you got to enjoy the flight.”

Hana groans, “Oh goodness, I’m so sorry, Riley. I tried so hard to stay awake. Was the flight terribly uncomfortable.”

“Meh. I survived. At least the plane had an MCU marathon, so it wasn’t all bad.”

“And how about Maxie?”

A sarcastic laugh escapes Riley’s lips. “You mean ‘Max’ right?” She sighs. “For better or worse, our little guy is growing up right before our eyes.”

Hana looks up at her son grabbing his bag from the overhead compartment. He’s quite tall, especially for his age with an athletic build. Despite everything, Hana can’t help but beam with pride. She remembers carrying him for nine grueling months, bringing him into this world, and being with him every step of his life. Sure he may act like a typical teenager too often, but his mothers both sense a good heart.

Outside of JFK airport, a sharp chill in the air hits the Cordonian family. “It reminds me of Lythikos,” Max remarks, “perhaps Aunt Olivia would like this, but it’s not for me.”

The mothers look at each other and sigh before locating their limousine. They can only hope that Max will keep the complaining to a minimum.

***

There are certain perks to being a duchess of a foreign country, among them being the fancy accommodations. But as much as Riley enjoys the plush furniture and luxurious amenities, this isn’t the New York she knows. She wants Hana, and especially Max to walk among the people, and experience the place she once called home.

“Well, out there looks nice,” Max offers, pointing to Central Park, “I’ve heard plenty of this famous park, maybe we can see if it lives up to the reputation.”

Riley lights up at the suggestion. It’s been far too long since she enjoyed a walk in her favorite park. Seeing it again would be great, as long as Max doesn’t ruin anything. Everything should be fine, but one never knows when it comes to teenagers. But the young man’s expression is one of curiosity, which Riley takes as a good sign, so they get changed and head to the elevator to explore the city.

***

Just outside the hotel, Max notices a man with worn out clothes and long, unwashed hair and beard huddled in a corner. The teenager approaches him to hand over a snack from his bag.

“Mom, that man is not well. How can the leaders of this city be ok with their own people suffering so?”

Riley feels great shame. For as long as she can remember, she’d never paid much attention to the homelessness that plagued her city. She always felt that there wasn’t anything she could do to help them, but was that ok?

“One thing is for sure,” Max continues as they enter the park, “Elizabeth and Liam would never tolerate this. The leaders here must be held accountable.”

Both Riley and Hana share a look. There’s that heart they both knew their son possessed. Such compassion certainly separated him from his father. 

A thick layer of white snow covers Central Park and reflects the sunlight. Riley’s favorite memories are the blooming plants during the spring, but the snowy paradise of winter is a close second. She’s about to suggest a visit to the Met when Belvedere Castle catches her eye and the three of them notice a crowd gathered at the site.

Upon closer inspection, the three of them quickly realize that this is no friendly gathering, as evidenced by the signs featuring homophobic slurs and proclamations of God’s hatred for same-sex couples. A mixture of hatred, fear, and sadness is written on the faces of the people. And what prompted such an ugly response?

Two women on the balcony, holding hands facing each other and both dressed in white. Contrasting those literally and figuratively beneath them, their faces have nothing but peace and love to express. They block out the sounds around them and kiss each other for the first time as wives. It reminds Hana and Riley a great deal of their own wedding.

Luckily, there is a police presence to make sure the newlyweds are safe from the hate-filled mob, but the duchesses both look at each other with sorrow. In this day and age and in this city known throughout the world for it’s forward-thinking ways, to witness such hate is indeed disheartening. 

“You!” A stranger calls out to Hana, “how dare you and that other whore raise that boy without a father? Who will teach him how to be a man?”

Hana is grief-stricken. How could anyone think to say there’s something wrong with the family she has with Riley? All the two of them have ever done is love Max with all their hearts. How could society see that as some sort of sin?

Before Riley can speak up, Max rushes towards the stranger to address the crowd.

“You have no right to speak to my mothers that way! I’ll have you all know that my father is a selfish, loveless man, who has never so much as hugged me. His only lessons bestowed to me have to do with how to look down on those less fortunate than me. My mothers have showered me with love from the day I was born and taught me to be kind, forgiving, honest, and brave. I’m well aware of what it takes to be a true man, and it’s because of these two women. And if your God places greater value on gender than morals, than he is feeble and worthless. I’ll worship a righteous God instead.”

The words fall mostly on deaf ears. Although some seem to contemplate the young man’s wisdom, most of them remain willfully ignorant. It doesn’t matter. Max walks back to his mothers and hugs them both.

“I love you, both.”

“We love you too.” Hana tearfully replies.

“We’re so proud of you, Max,” Riley says hugging him tightly.

“Hey, mom… you can call me Maxie.”


End file.
